Wednesday, October 01, 2008

One in Eight *

I've recently finished a stealth project that's been in the works for a while. I'm unveiling it today, as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I created it for an annual art exhibit here in Juneau: Bra Dazzler. It's a fundraiser for a local non-profit, Team Survivor Perseverance, that provides fitness and exercise programs to women affected by cancer.

It is totally unlike anything I have ever done before. I tend to knit wearable things, and I don't think of myself as artsy.

Let's just say that there was a serendipitous convergence of top-down hat knitting and hearing about this exhibit last year. Then I went to see the exhibit and there was such a wide range of styles and materials employed, that I was emboldened and decided I was brave enough to give it a go. I started working on a prototype last spring, and once I had it figured out, I began slowly knitting breasts. They were great little take-along projects, and I kept them going in the background.

When we returned from our last trip of the summer, in August, I realized the deadline for exhibit submissions was earlier than I expected. So I went into high gear and started churning out knitted breasts. Turns out, the knitting was the easy part. Nick helped me figure out how to assemble it. (Thanks, honey!) In the end, it's pretty darn close to what I envisioned when I started out; that makes me very happy.

One in EightCreated for the Bra Dazzler 2008 Exhibition in Juneau, AlaskaOn display at the Juneau-Douglas City MuseumOctober 3-November 1Yarn: Cascade 220; shades of grey, blackand kool-aid dyed lemon-limeNeedles: US size 5 dpns and US size 3 circularsSize: Canvas measures 30" x 24."Each breast is approximately 5" in diameter.Most surprising this about this project: Think about it .. 16 knitted breasts .. eight pairs .. brought to you by a knitter who has trouble getting a second sock finished!

*The risk, if you are a woman, of getting breast cancer in your lifetime.

Oh Kathy,this made me cry.It's wonderful.It's moving.I think we should all wear a pair of knitted breasts made by you (on a string like old-fashioned kids' mittens)....instead of pink ribbons. Much love.Hannah